This isnae me wife. We’re nae wedded. I cannae act like this around her.
She was only a girl he had helped when she needed him the most, and now they were saddled with each other, but nothing he told himself was enough to convince him he shouldn’t make a move.
Every day, he hung on by a thread?—
A thread that snapped when the door slammed open.
There stood Elsie, looking at him with wide eyes, her rosy lips slightly parted as she drew in breath. There, in the light of the hallway torches, she looked as if bathed in gold, her hair glowing, her green eyes trained right on him.
And his first instinct, saints help him, was to lean back and present himself as appealingly as he could.
“Did they nae teach ye tae knock in yer proper household?” he asked, mimicking her, to make a joke so she wouldn’t notice how much her being there impacted him. He was never one to be embarrassed about nudity; close proximity to other soldiers took care of that quickly and early in a fighter’s life, and he had no qualms about being nude near women. But Elsie herself looked right about ready to faint, her cheeks colored by embarrassment and by the heat other own bath—which she seemed to have only just exited. Her hair was still damp, her sleeves clinging to her skin, and Halvard couldn’t help but wonder where else her chemise clung to her under all those layers she wore.
He wanted nothing more than to stand from that tub, nude and dripping wet, close the distance between them, and kiss her. He wanted nothing more than to claim her as his own, rules and propriety be damned.
But he stayed rooted to the spot, not moving a single muscle. He was stronger than this; he had to be.
“I didn’t realize you were still in the bath,” Elsie said, and though her voice trembled, with every passing second she seemed to gather her resolve. She didn’t move either; she only stood there by the door, watching him.
“Ye should leave,” Halvard said, hoping she would leave him in peace.
“I don’t want to.”
Halvard’s breath caught in his chest. The way Elsie was looking at him was almost enough to finally make him act. He could feel himself harden under the water, and he only wished Elsie couldn’t see it—though for her sake or his, he didn’t know.
Should I dae it? Should I give her what she wants?
Because she clearly wanted it. Not only had she asked for it before, but now there was hunger in her gaze—the same kind of hunger that Halvard knew was in his, the two of them caught in thatn moment, neither willing to back down first.
And then the door opened once more, and there stood Sten, red-faced and sweating, coming to a sudden halt when he took in the scene before him.
Sten looked awkwardly between Halvard and Elsie, and Halvard saw the way she seemed to swoon for a moment, as if barely holding herself upright. All the color drained from her face—where he thought she would only blush harder, she instead turned almost white, as if she had seen a ghost.
Had they not been caught in such a compromising position, perhaps Halvard would have laughed. As it were, he could only curse under his breath, blindly reaching for a towel to cover himself. When he grabbed it, he stood, making sure to keep himself decent, and then stepped out of the tub, wrapping the linen cloth around him.
“What is it, Sten?” he asked. “Or is everyone simply plannin’ on walkin’ in on me while I bathe today?”
The cool rose back to Elsie’s cheeks then, and she took several steps backwards, as if she could simply vanish into the stone wall. Sten, on the other hand, cleared his throat and took a few steps forward.
“There’s news o’ an attack,” he said. “We must leave fer the borderlands at once.”
That was enough to send Halvard into motion, everything else immediately forgotten. If the borders were under attack, he wasalmost certain it was because of Harcourt, and this time, he wouldn’t let the man go unscathed.
“Gather the men,” said Halvard. “Make sure they are all ready tae go within a candle mark.”
“A candle mark?” asked Stein. “Halvard, surely?—”
“I said a candle mark, Sten,” Halvard insisted. “Dae what ye must. I want them ready tae leave. Make sure we have enough provisions fer a few days.’
“Ye think there’ll be a battle?” Sten asked.
“There might,” said Halvard with a sigh. “Just make sure we have everythin’ we need if there is.”
“Aye,” said Sten, and then quickly left the room, rushing to get the soldiers prepared.
Once he was gone, Halvard walked over to Elsie, who seemed to have forgotten their previous conversation too. Now, her embarrassment was replaced by worry, and when Halvard took her hands in his, he found them trembling.
“You think there will be a battle?” Elsie asked in a quiet voice.
